beauty reviews & other musings

July 12, 2016July 31, 2016

Birchbox UK: July 2016

As of this month I’ve received eight Birchboxes, and while I’ve loved getting a little parcel in the post each month and trying new brands and products, the boxes have been fairly hit and miss for me. Often there’s too much hair and body stuff and not enough makeup, or things that just aren’t suited to me at all (see: last month’s fake tan). However, I was excited to find that this month’s box was filled with things I would actually use – so I won’t cancel my subscription just yet…

The theme for this month’s box is “Never Ending Summer”, which sadly does not line up with the typical British weather. The box is in collaboration with Millie Mackintosh (from Made in Chelsea), who helped design the box and choose the content. The box itself is also really pretty, with a purple-pink watercolour design and gold lettering (I might keep this one). This pink summery vibe continues with the products inside the box:

For this month’s box, subscribers were allowed to choose between two full-size John Frieda hair products – either the Frizz Ease Forever Smooth Anti-Frizz Primeror the Luxurious Volume 7 Day Volume In-Shower Treatment. I’m not really one for hair products, but having the choice was appealing – I went for the Anti-Frizz Primer, since my hair essentially grows outwards (think: a triangle) and definitely doesn’t need any more volume. The product has a lovely salon-like smell to it and worked nicely through my wet hair, although after I dried it there was still a bit of frizz present.

The first skincare sample in this month’s box was the Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum, which is suited to all skin types and is supposed to be complexion-correcting. It had the same odd (but pleasant) scent as the rest of the Vinoperfect range, and a lightweight but slightly tacky consistency – however it did feel nice on my skin and was smooth and hydrating. It was so difficult to get this stuff out of the tube, although the full size comes with a dropper so that would be easier (but really expensive, at £45 for 30ml).

The other skincare item was the Hydra-Boost Day Cream, a lightweight moisturiser from Elemis (another brand I’ve never tried). I really liked this, as it wasn’t too thick or greasy, and absorbed nicely into my skin. You also don’t need a lot, which is lucky since the full-size is £39 for 30ml.

Inside this month was also a mini Nails Inc polish in the shade Notting Hill Carnival, a lovely bright cerise pink. I have a couple of these polishes and the formula is really opaque and long wearing, so this pink shade was a nice surprise.

Continuing the pink theme, the last item I received was from Birchbox’s own makeup brand, LOC. It’s a full-size gloss crayon created in collaboration with Millie Mackintosh (hence the cursive Millie on the packaging), who named the shade Bohemian Rose. The formula of this was nice and creamy, although not overly long-lasting (it is a gloss), and the pigment was really strong. However I’m not sure the shade suited me, since I don’t tend to go for shades that are lighter than my natural lip colour. I’ve put a picture of me wearing it below:

I’m holding out hope that next month’s box will have loads of useful bits in it too, although I am considering a Glossybox subscription instead (someone please let me know if it’s any better). As always, Birchbox is available for £10 + £2.95 shipping per month.